P&G: show your commitment to moms by ending your support of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- authors of a tsunami of new state laws that restrict voters’ rights (especially women voters), push "kill at will" gun laws, limit access to health care, public education, clean air and water, and reduce safety standards -- all of which impact our ability to raise happy, healthy families.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Earlier this year, Procter and Gamble launched it’s “Thank You Mom” program (@ThankYouMom on Twitter). According to P&G Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer, Mark Pritchard, “P&G is in the business of helping moms. Through our ‘Thank You Mom’ program we will support not just the moms of Olympic athletes – but every mom who does whatever it takes to make her child’s life the best it can be.”

For generations, moms and dads have trusted the Procter and Gamble brand. We diaper our babies with Pampers and bathe them with gentle Ivory soap. We teach our children how to brush their teeth with Oral-B and Crest.

How many times have we given Vicks Vapo-Rub to a sick child, or taken Nyquil and Dayquil to get us through a busy day? Products like Swiffer, Bounty, and Tide help millions keep their homes clean. P&G personal care products include Pantene, Clairol, Gillette, Old Spice, Always and Tampax.

Procter and Gamble has always positioned itself as a friendly and helpful presence in American households. Many consumers have been loyal despite other choices that are more environmentally-friendly and not tested on animals.

So why does P&G support laws that undermine the well-being of American families?

ALEC is the organization behind Florida's deadly kill-at-will law (and similar ones in 23 other states) that resulted in the tragic shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

According to the Center for Media and Democracy, ALEC also:

1. Authored laws in 33 states that prevent millions of Americans from exercising their basic democratic right to vote, disproportionately targeting women who've changed names or addresses and suppress their votes by requiring a voter ID.

2. Promotes school voucher programs and other schemes that siphon off funds from public schools. It also promotes climate change denial taught as science.

2. Worked behind the scenes during negotiations on healthcare reform to keep proposals like Medicare for all off the table.

3. Backs the privatization of Medicare and Medicaid through “individual health savings accounts” and vouchers that would not be sufficient to cover the actual cost of needed medical care.

American women have trusted the Procter and Gamble brand for generations: From the Ivory soap we use in our babies' baths to Oral-B brushes and Crest toothpaste, to Tide detergent and Bounty paper towels, P&G is more than a company that manufactures useful products: It has always been more like a cherished friend of the family.

But Trayvon Martin's death has left an ugly stain on the "kill at will" gun law that enabled his murder -- and now that stain has spread to all corporate supporters of ALEC, including Procter & Gamble, which was a Private Enterprise Board member of ALEC from the 1990s through at least 2002.

Procter and Gamble should end its corporate sponsorship of ALEC. If not, millions of Americans will be forced to conclude that Procter and Gamble's continued association with ALEC must mean it agrees with ALEC-written bills that restrict our right to vote -- especially voter ID laws that would disproportionately affect women-- threaten to dismantle our children's public schools, take away our ability to find affordable healthcare, and poison our environment.

These are not the policies we'd expect a friend to support, and we cannot support a company that helps underwrite them. Walk your talk. Your @ThankYouMom program would mean so much more if you no longer provided financial or any other kind of support to ALEC.